Fresh water price index based on water quality

ABSTRACT

A method and system for computing a stable index value of fresh water based on water quality category and/or grade from current values of root commodities (i.e. freely marketed products) that either have fresh water as a constituent and/or utilize fresh water in their production, usable to develop a stable investment instrument for investing in fresh water. A processor may process associations between a root commodity and a water quality category of fresh water. A display associated with a computer may display updateable current prices of fresh water of a particular water quality category and/or grade and updateable current prices of one or more root commodities. A water measurement device may measure at least one water source of fresh water with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio and compare against standards to categorize the fresh water.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for making a stableprice of fresh water and financial instruments using such price and moreparticularly, to systems and methods where the price or index value offresh water is based on the water quality.

Fresh water is an essential and irreplaceable commodity that is becomingscarcer. Fresh water is also a very desirable commodity for investment.Investment money is needed for protecting, purifying and distributingwater. On the other hand, the market for water is strongly affected bylocal and temporal factors and prices vary wildly. In order to investsafely in water an investor needs additional protection.

It is important that the water market take into account water quality.This is true from rational economic point of view of investors—the truevalue of water strongly depends on the water quality. It is also truefrom a more idealistic conversationalist point of view because in orderto increase the incentive to protect water quality, it is necessary thatthe value of water for holders reflects its quality.

A few factors make developing a rational price index for water differentfrom and more difficult than other commodities. First, water is a highlyregulated commodity and its price often does not reflect its true marketvalue. Secondly, water is an essential element in a vast number ofdifferent processes. Different aspects of water quality of differingeffect on its value for the different uses.

Concerning the first difficulty, it has already been pointed out in U.S.Pat. No. 8,024,239 to Inventor Shirazi (Title: Aqua Index) issued Sep.20, 2011 (hereinafter “Shirazi '239 patent”), which patent is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety, that the political andeconomic importance of water limits the potential of trade as a policytool to mitigate water scarcity. National and local governments use exitfees, fixed taxing and progressive taxing of water on one hand, andsubsidization of water on the other hand to protect local water suppliesor encourage water intensive industries (like agriculture). Water has awide range of prices (e.g. 0.16-4.00 usd/m3) and exit fees (e.g. 0-70%in different provinces in Australia), and tax rates (e.g. 10-50%progressive tax and 30% subsidization for agriculture in Israel). As aresult, no one has been able to build a stable international market forwater.

Concerning the second problem, it has been pointed out by the TennesseeWater Control Board (see Rules of Tennessee Dept. of Environment andConservation Division of Water Pollution Control, Chapter 1200-4-1,http://tn.gov/sos/rules/1200/1200-04/1200-04-01.pdf) that water has manyuses, which in the public interest are reasonable and necessary. Suchuses include sources of water supply for domestic and industrialpurposes; propagation and maintenance of fish and other aquatic life;recreation in and on the waters including the safe consumption of fishand shellfish; livestock watering and irrigation; navigation; generationof power; propagation and maintenance of wildlife; and the enjoyment ofscenic and aesthetic qualities of waters. The rigid application ofuniform water quality is not desirable or reasonable because of thevarying uses of such waters.

Therefore, to develop a unified price index for water as a commodityrequires consideration of aspects of use and interaction of qualityfactors and uses in a way that is different from any other commodity.

One cannot just define certain “good” and “bad” aspects of water qualityand assign points (like is done in other commodities). This is statedclearly for example by the FAO (Food and Agriculture organization of theUnited Nations):

Conceptually, water quality refers to the characteristics of a watersupply that will influence its suitability for a specific use, i.e. howwell the quality meets the needs of the user. Quality is defined bycertain physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Even apersonal preference such as taste is a simple evaluation ofacceptability. For example, if two drinking waters of equally goodquality are available, people may express a preference for one supplyrather than the other; the better tasting water becomes the preferredsupply. In irrigation water evaluation, emphasis is placed on thechemical and physical characteristics of the water and only rarely areany other factors considered important.

Specific uses have different quality needs and one water supply isconsidered more acceptable (of better quality) if it produces betterresults or causes fewer problems than an alternative water supply. Forexample, good quality river water which can be used successfully forirrigation may, because of its sediment load, be unacceptable formunicipal use without treatment to remove the sediment. Similarly,snowmelt water of excellent quality for municipal use may be toocorrosive for industrial use without treatment to reduce its corrosionpotential. Obviously one cannot just define uses of water and make thevalue a weighted average of the value for each use since this wouldpenalize a water that is fit for drinking if it was also fit foragriculture. In reality, due to the vast difference in quantitativedemand, it is sometimes advantageous to sell drinking quality water toagriculture.

There is therefore a compelling need to have a stable price for freshwater that is based on water quality and to have financial instrumentsbased on such a price.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is a method for investing in freshwater based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising (a) determining,using a computer processor, current prices of at least one rootcommodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one rootcommodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said eachroot commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each rootcommodity; (b) matching each of at least one water quality category witheach root commodity of the at least one root commodity such that aquality of water used in production of a respective root commodity meetswater quality standards of a respective water quality category; and (c)determining, using a computer processor, for each water quality categoryof the at least one water quality category, a current index value forfresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index valuedetermined based on a current price of said each root commodity that wasmatched with said each water quality category and based on at least oneof (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commoditythat was matched with said each water quality category and (ii) aquantity of fresh water used in production of said each root commoditythat was matched with said each water quality category.

A preferred embodiment of this method involves measuring at least onewater source having fresh water with respect to at least one of TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at leastone water source by one or more of (i) water quality category and (ii)water quality grade.

A further preferred embodiment involves displaying on a displayassociated with a computer an updateable current price of one or moreroot commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of aparticular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii)water quality category and water quality grade, the current price of thefresh water of the particular water quality being dependent on thecurrent price of the one or more root commodities.

A further preferred embodiment involves displaying on a first portion ofa display associated with a computer one or more current index valuesfor fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category offresh water whose current index value is displayed on the first portion,the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a currentprice of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of thecurrent index values is derived and an indicia identifying the at leastone root commodity whose current price is displayed on the secondportion.

A still further preferred embodiment involves updating over time andmaking accessible to the public a displayed at least one of the currentindex values and updating over time and making available to the public adisplayed current price of the at least one root commodity.

A further preferred embodiment involves determining, using a processor,a price of fresh water derived from a particular water source bydetermining a current level of suitability of fresh water derived fromthe particular water source for each of the plurality of water qualitycategories and by combining current index values of the fresh water ofeach water quality categories by weighting each index value beingcombined by (i) the determined current level of suitability of the freshwater from the particular water source for each of the plurality ofwater quality categories and by (ii) a market share of water from eachwater quality category.

A further aspect of the present invention is a method for investing infresh water based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising (a)determining, using a computer processor, current prices of at least oneroot commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least oneroot commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in saideach root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said eachroot commodity; (b) matching each of at least one water quality categorywith each root commodity of the at least one root commodity such that aquality of water that is constituent in a respective root commoditymeets water quality standards of a respective water quality category;and (c) determining, using a computer processor, for each water qualitycategory of the at least one water quality category, a current indexvalue for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, theindex value determined based on a current price of said each rootcommodity that was matched with said each water quality category andbased on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent insaid each root commodity that was matched with said each water qualitycategory and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in production of saideach root commodity that was matched with said each water qualitycategory.

A preferred embodiment of this method comprises displaying on a displayassociated with a computer an updateable current price of one or moreroot commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of aparticular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii)water quality category and water quality grade, the current price of thefresh water of the particular water quality being dependent on thecurrent price of the one or more root commodities.

A preferred embodiment of this method also comprises displaying on afirst portion of a display associated with a computer one or more of thecurrent index values for fresh water and an indicia, identifying eitherwater or a category of fresh water, whose current index value isdisplayed on the first portion, the display also displaying on a secondportion of the display a current price of at least one root commodityfrom which the at least one of the current index values is derived andan indicia identifying a root commodity whose current price is displayedon the second portion.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a method of usingfinancial instruments to invest in fresh water based of water quality,comprising determining, using a computer processor, a price of each ofthe financial instruments identifying on its face a particular amount offresh water of a particular water quality category, the price of eachfinancial instrument determined using an index value of fresh water of aparticular water quality category, having a computer store water qualitystandards for at least one water quality category; determining, using acomputer processor, current prices of at least one root commodity otherthan water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodityhaving at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each rootcommodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each rootcommodity; associating each water quality category of the at least onewater quality category with a root commodity of the at least one rootcommodity such that a quality of water either (i) constituent in arespective root commodity or (ii) used in production of the respectiveroot commodity, meets water quality standards of a respective waterquality category; determining, using a computer processor, for eachwater quality category of the at least one water quality category, theindex value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category,the index value determined based on a current price of said each rootcommodity associated with said each water quality category and based onat least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said eachroot commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii)a quantity of fresh water used in production of said each root commodityassociated with said each water quality category.

One preferred embodiment of this method comprises displaying on adisplay associated with a computer an updateable current price of one ormore root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water ofa particular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or(iii) water quality category and water quality grade, the current priceof the fresh water of the particular water quality being dependent onthe current price of the one or more root commodities.

One further preferred embodiment of this method is displaying on a firstportion of a display associated with a computer at least one of theindex values for fresh water, the display also displaying on a secondportion of the display a price of at least one root commodity from whichthe at least one of the index values is derived, the at least one of theindex values and the price of the at least one root commodity each beingupdated over time.

In some preferred embodiments, the method also comprises the waterquality categories having standards specifying ranges for at least oneof TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate,toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.

In some further preferred embodiments, the method also comprises thewater quality categories having standards specifying ranges for TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio.

In certain further preferred embodiments, the method also comprisesusing a specific body of fresh water as collateral for the amount offresh water on the face of each of the financial instruments.

A still further aspect of the present invention is a system for tradingfresh water based on water quality, comprising a computer fordetermining current prices of at least one root commodity other thanwater, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having atleast one of (i) water as a constituent and (ii) water utilized inproduction of the said each root commodity, storing water qualitystandards for at least one water quality category, processingassociations between each of at least one water quality category with atleast one root commodity of the at least one root commodity such that aquality of water used in production of the root commodity meets waterquality standards of the respective water quality category; anddetermining a current index value for fresh water of each of the waterquality categories based on a current price of said each root commodityand based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituentin the root commodity associated with said each water quality categoryand (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in production of the rootcommodity.

The system, in some preferred embodiments, also comprises a displayassociated with a computer for displaying an updateable current price ofone or more root commodities and an updateable current price of freshwater of a particular (i) water quality category, (ii) water qualitygrade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, such thatthe current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality isdependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities. Insome further preferred embodiments, the system has a display associatedwith the computer for displaying one or more of the current index valuesfor fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category offresh water for each one of the current index value displayed on thefirst portion, the display also displaying a current price of at leastone root commodity from which the at least one of the current indexvalues is derived and an indicia identifying each of the at least oneroot commodity whose current price is displayed on the display. In otherpreferred embodiments, the system also includes a display associatedwith the computer for displaying on a first portion of the display oneor more of the current index values for fresh water and an indiciaidentifying either water or a category of fresh water for each one ofthe current index value displayed on the first portion, the display alsodisplaying on a second portion of the display a current price of atleast one root commodity from which the at least one of the currentindex values is derived and an indicia identifying each of the at leastone root commodity whose current price is displayed on the secondportion.

Certain preferred embodiments of the system further comprise the atleast one water quality category including at least one from (i) a firstwater quality category for water that meets minimal standards for eitherdrinking or domestic use, (ii) a second water quality category for waterthat does not meet standards for drinking water but meets minimalstandards for agricultural quality water and (iii) a third water qualitycategory for water that does not meet standards for agricultural qualitywater or drinking water but meets minimal standards for industrialquality water.

In some preferred embodiments of the system, the water quality standardsspecify ranges for at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness,sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.

The system, in some preferred embodiments, also comprises a waterquality measurement device for measuring fresh water from at least onewater source that has fresh water, with respect to at least one of TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at leastone water source by water quality category.

In certain preferred embodiments of the system, the computer is also fordetermining a price of fresh water that comes from a particular watersource by determining a current level of suitability of fresh waterderived from the particular water source for each of the at least onewater quality category and by combining current index values of thefresh water of each water quality categories by weighting each indexvalue being combined by (i) the determined current level of suitabilityof the fresh water from the particular water source for each of the atleast one water quality category and by (ii) a market share of waterfrom each of the at least one water quality category.

A yet still further aspect of the present invention is a further systemfor trading fresh water based on water quality, comprising a computerfor determining current prices of at least one root commodity other thanwater, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having atleast one of (i) water as a constituent in the root commodity and (ii)water utilized in production of the root commodity, storing waterquality standards for at least one water quality category, determiningand storing associations between each of at least one water qualitycategory of the at least one water quality categories with at least oneroot commodity such that a quality of water constituent in a respectiveroot commodity meets water quality standards of a respective waterquality category; and determining a current index value for fresh waterof each of the water quality categories based on a current price of saideach root commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of freshwater constituent in the root commodity associated with said each waterquality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in productionof the root commodity.

The further system, in some preferred embodiments, includes a displayassociated with a computer for displaying an updateable current price ofone or more root commodities and an updateable current price of freshwater of a particular (i) water quality category, (ii) water qualitygrade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, such thatthe current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality isdependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities. Insome other preferred embodiments, the further system includes a displayassociated with the computer for displaying one or more of the currentindex values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water ora category of fresh water for each one of the current index valuedisplayed on the first portion, the display also displaying a currentprice of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of thecurrent index values is derived and an indicia identifying each of theat least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on thedisplay.

In preferred embodiments of the further system, the water qualitystandards specify ranges for at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.

Another aspect of the present invention is still further system fortrading fresh water based on water quality, the system comprising atleast one computer of at least one commodities exchange outputtingprices of commodities that are not water, at least one of thecommodities being a root commodity that either has fresh water as aconstituent or whose production utilizes fresh water; a system computerhaving a processor, the system computer linked with and configured toreceive from the at least one computer of the at least one commoditiesexchange updateable price data for the commodities, the system computerconfigured to identify root commodities and extract, from the updateableprice data, the current price for said identified root commodities, theprocessor also configured to store water quality standards for at leastone water quality category, associate each water quality category of theat least one water quality categories with at least one said identifiedroot commodity such that a quality of water used in production of arespective identified root commodity meets water quality standards of arespective water quality category, compute, for each water qualitycategory of the at least one water quality category, a current indexvalue for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, thecurrent index value determined based on a current price of said eachidentified root commodity associated with said each water qualitycategory and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh waterconstituent in said each identified root commodity associated with saideach water quality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used inproduction of said each identified root commodity associated with saideach water quality category, the system computer configured to transmitthe computed current index value of each water quality category to theat least one computer.

Certain preferred embodiments of this still further system include adisplay associated with the at least one computer, the displaydisplaying at least one current index value for fresh water of a waterquality category and displaying a price of at least one identified rootcommodity from which the at least one current index value for freshwater is derived, the displayed at least one current index value forfresh water being updated over time and the displayed price of the atleast one identified root commodity being updated over time, Otherpreferred embodiments of this other system include a display associatedwith the at least one computer, the display displaying at least onecurrent index value for fresh water of a water quality category in afirst portion of the display and displaying a price of at least oneidentified root commodity from which the at least one current indexvalue for fresh water is derived on a second portion of the display, thedisplayed at least one current index value for fresh water being updatedover time and the displayed price of the at least one identified rootcommodity being updated over time.

The still further system may in certain preferred embodiments furthercomprise a computer processor for determining a price of each of aplurality of financial instruments identifying on its face a particularamount of fresh water of a particular water quality category, the priceof each financial instrument determined using the current index value offresh water for one water quality category.

A yet still further aspect of the present invention is a still furthermethod for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the freshwater, comprising (a) determining, using a computer processor, currentprices of at least one root commodity, root commodities being other thanwater, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having atleast one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and(ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; (b)associating each of at least one water quality category with at leastone root commodity of the at least one root commodity, the at least onewater quality category defined by falling within a range with regard toat least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride,nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio; and (c) determining, usinga computer processor, for each water quality category of the at leastone water quality category, a current index value for fresh watermeeting said each water quality category, the index value determinedbased on a current price of said each root commodity that was associatedwith said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) aquantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commodity that wasassociated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity offresh water used in production of said each root commodity that wasassociated with said each water quality category.

Some preferred embodiments of this still further method also comprisedisplaying on a display associated with a computer one or more of thecurrent index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying eitherwater or a category of fresh water whose current index value isdisplayed on the display, the display also displaying a current price ofat least one root commodity from which the at least one of the currentindex values is derived and an indicia identifying each root commodityof the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed.Other preferred embodiments of this still further method comprisedisplaying on a first portion of a display associated with a computerone or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indiciaidentifying either water or a category of fresh water whose currentindex value is displayed on the first portion, the display alsodisplaying on a second portion of the display a current price of atleast one root commodity from which the at least one of the currentindex values is derived and an indicia identifying each root commodityof the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed onthe second portion.

The still further method also comprises in some preferred embodimentsusing a processor to adjust a price of pristine water based on asuitability of the pristine water for at least one of (i) drinking, (ii)agricultural use and (iii) industrial use.

Some other preferred embodiments of the still further method alsocomprise using a processor to adjust a price of non-pristine water basedon a suitability of the non-pristine water for at least one of (i)drinking, (ii) agricultural use and (iii) industrial use.

Some preferred embodiments of the still further method also includedetermining, using a computer processor, a price of each of a pluralityof financial instruments identifying on its face a particular amount offresh water of a particular water quality category, the price of eachfinancial instrument determined using the current index value of freshwater for one water quality category.

The still further method, in some preferred embodiments, also includesmeasuring at least one water source that has fresh water with respect toat least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride,nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the freshwater of the at least one water source by water quality category. Somepreferred embodiments of the still further method involve measuring theat least one water source with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonatecontent, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodiumadsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at least one watersource by water quality grade within a water quality category of thefresh water of the at least one water source.

A still further aspect of the present invention is an additional systemfor trading fresh water based on water quality, comprising a waterquality measuring device for measuring fresh water of at least one watersource with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio;a computer for receiving data from the water quality measuring devicewith respect to the fresh water in regard to the at least one of TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio and for comparing the received data to storedwater quality standards to determine a water quality category for thefresh water, determining current prices of at least one root commodity,each root commodity being other than water, each root commodity of theat least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as aconstituent in the root commodity and (ii) water utilized in productionof the root commodity, processing associations between each of at leastone water quality category and at least one root commodity; anddetermining a current index value for fresh water of each water qualitycategory of the at least one water quality categories based on a currentprice of said each root commodity and based on at least one of (i) aquantity of fresh water constituent in the root commodity associatedwith said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh waterused in production of the root commodity. In the additional system, insome preferred embodiments, the computer is also for determining a waterquality grade, processing associations between each of at least onewater quality grade with the at least one root commodity, anddetermining a current index value for fresh water of each water qualitygrade based on a current price of said each root commodity and based onat least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in the rootcommodity associated with said each water quality grade and (ii) aquantity of fresh water used in production of the root commodity. Theadditional system also comprises, in some preferred embodiments, adisplay associated with the computer, the display for displaying anupdateable current price of one or more root commodities and anupdateable current price of fresh water of a particular (i) waterquality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water qualitycategory and water quality grade, such that the current price of thefresh water of the particular water quality is dependent on the currentprice of the one or more root commodities. In some preferredembodiments, the updateable current price of one or more rootcommodities and the updateable current price of fresh water of aparticular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii)water quality category and water quality grade, are situated indifferent portions of the display.

One aspect of the present invention is a method for investing in freshwater based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising (a) determining,using a computer processor, current prices of at least one rootcommodity, root commodities being other than water, each root commodityof the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as aconstituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized inproduction of said each root commodity; (b) associating at least onewater quality category with at least one root commodity; and (c)determining, using a computer processor, for each water quality categoryof the at least one water quality category, a current index value forfresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index valuedetermined based on a current price of the at least one root commoditythat was associated with said each water quality category and based onat least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said atleast one root commodity that was associated with said each waterquality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in productionof said at least one root commodity that was associated with said eachwater quality category.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, descriptions and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a method in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a further method in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a still further method in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a further method in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a schematic illustration of a display in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a schematic illustration of a display, different than thedisplay shown in FIG. 5A, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6A is a schematic illustration of a system of the present inventionin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a schematic illustration of a system of the present inventionin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a further system of the presentinvention in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a further system of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratingthe general principles of the invention, since the scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

The present invention generally provides a method and system forcreating a stable price of fresh water that is based on the quality ofthe fresh water. This may be applied to fresh water of a particularwater source. A financial instrument identifying on its face aparticular amount of fresh water of a particular water quality categorymay state a price determined using an index value of fresh water of aparticular water quality category. The method of the present inventionmay include determining, using a computer processor, current prices ofat least one root commodity, each root commodity being other than water,each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at leastone of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii)water utilized in production of said each root commodity. The method mayalso include associating or matching each of at least one water qualitycategory and/or quality grade with at least one root commodity such thata quality of water either constituent in the root commodity or used inproduction of the root commodity meets water quality standards of therespective water quality category. The method may also involvedetermining, using a computer processor, a current index value for freshwater for each water quality category of the at least one water qualitycategory. The method may also include measuring fresh water of at leastone water source with respect to chemical or physical criteria such asat least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride,nitrate, toxins and sodium absorption ratio to determine the waterquality category and/or the water quality grade of fresh water from thatwater source. A system of the present invention may include a waterquality measuring device for measuring fresh water of at least one watersource with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium absorption ratio.The system may also include a computer for receiving data from the waterquality measuring device with respect to the fresh water in regard tothe at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium,chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium absorption ratio and for comparingthe received data to stored water quality standards to determine a waterquality category for the fresh water. The computer may also determinecurrent prices of at least one root commodity (the root commoditiesbeing other than water), each root commodity of the at least one rootcommodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in the rootcommodity and (ii) water utilized in production of the root commodity.The computer may also be for processing associations between each of atleast one water quality category with at least one root commodity anddetermining a current index value for fresh water of each of the waterquality categories based on a current price of said each root commodityand based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituentin the root commodity associated with said each water quality categoryand (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in production of the rootcommodity. The present invention may also include in the method orsystem a display associated with a computer displaying an updateablecurrent price of one or more root commodities and an updateable currentprice of fresh water of a particular (i) water quality category, (ii)water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water qualitygrade, the current price of the fresh water of the particular waterquality being dependent on the current price of the one or more rootcommodities. The independent variable (prices of root commodities) maybe displayed on a different portion of the display that the dependentvariable (prices of the fresh water of a particular water qualitycategory and/or grade.

In contrast to the prior art, where there is neither a method nor asystem for creating a stable price for fresh water other than U.S. Pat.No. 8,024,239, and where in that '239 patent the price does not takeinto consideration water quality, the method and system of the presentinvention may create a stable price for fresh water, and a financialinstrument associated therewith, which takes into consideration thequality of the water. By considering the quality of the water, the pricemay be more accurate, more stable and more tailored to the differentwater sources throughout the different regions of the world. In fact,today certain bottled water that comes from the Swiss Alps may commandan inflated price, i.e. a higher price than the quality would dictate,from the fact that the Alps have a reputation for high quality water yetin reality, due to constant pollution from pharmaceutical companies inthe area, the quality has suffered. The present invention would lead toa more accurate, quality-based price since the price may be tied to thewater quality and since the quality of that water source may be measuredand this measurement may be updated at reasonable intervals, for exampleannually. Furthermore, having the price of water be based on waterquality may better enable the utilization of water resources asfinancial collateral. This may further facilitate trade at a time whennew equity is desperately being sought, particularly in Europe. Incontrast to the prior art, where the price of the water may not be basedon water quality categories, the present invention, by utilizingcategories of water quality to create a price and to create financialinstruments using that price, may encourage better water quality sinceone may be able to charge a higher price for water of higher waterquality. In further contrast to the prior art, the present invention mayadjust a price of water based on geographical location of the watersource. In contrast to the prior art, in which a display may displayonly one type of commodity, the display used in the method and system ofthe present invention may display both prices (or an index of) one ormore root commodities and a price (or an index) for one or morecategories and/or grade of fresh water based on quality, wherein theprice of the fresh water may be derived from the price of one or more ofthe root commodities. Furthermore, in further contrast to the prior art,in which a display of commodity prices may have various prices ofvarious commodities in a particular portion of the display, but wherethere is no dependence between the price of one commodity displayed andthe price of another commodity displayed, the display associated withthe system and method of the present invention may display prices of oneor more root commodities and prices or indices of one or more waterquality categories and/or one or more water quality grades of freshwater wherein the price of the water is derived from the price of one ormore of the root commodities. Furthermore, in certain preferredembodiments, the display of the method and system of the presentinvention may include a display of prices of one or more rootcommodities in a first portion of the display and the prices of variousquality categories and/quality grades of fresh water in a second portionof the display, wherein the prices of the one or more quality categoriesand/or grades of fresh water displayed in the second portion of thedisplay may be derived from and dependent on the displayed prices of oneor more of the root commodities displayed in the first portion of thedisplay. Each of these displayed prices may be constantly updated. Bydisplaying the price of a water commodity and the price of rootcommodities from which the price of water commodity is computed in thismanner, a user of the display may be presented with a graphicalillustration, discernable at a glance, of the relationship of the priceof water to the price of the root commodities. This may provide users ofthe display with a better appreciation of this relationship between thecommodities. Furthermore, by displaying water indices separately fromother commodities, this may draw attention to the new use of water as acommodity and encourage water quality improvement since the prices ofthe water are tied to the quality category and/or grade of the freshwater. In further contrast to the prior art, in which water is measuredmerely to see if it meets minimal standards for drinking, the presentinvention may include a step of measuring the quality of a source ofwater (for example for TDS, carbonate, pH etc.) in order to fit thewater into water quality categories (i.e. for pristine, for domestic,agricultural, industrial) and optionally grades of quality within eachcategory. Furthermore, in contrast to the prior art, the presentinvention may include a step of measure the quality of the water sourcein order to create categories of water quality to create separate prices(base prices or otherwise) for each water quality category.

The principles and operation of a method and system for a fresh waterprice index based on water quality according to the present inventionmay be better understood with reference to the drawings and theaccompanying description.

Following are some examples of how to calculate a price of fresh water(and a financial instrument based on such a price) that is based onwater quality.

“Fresh water” should be understood as including fresh water that hassolidified in the form of ice, for example icebergs. When referring inthis patent application to “associating”, “association” or “matching”water quality categories with root commodities, this should beunderstood as also encompassing associating or matching root commoditieswith only a portion of a water quality category (i.e. a grade). Forexample, a matching of grade A1 (where “A” is the water qualitycategory) with a root commodity, shall be understood to fall within andbe an example of matching or associating water quality categories withroot commodities.

In order to define a stable market for water based on water quality, onemay define a few basic water quality categories. Then making use of U.S.Pat. No. 8,024,239 to Shirazi, one may define a market value for waterfor each water quality category or water category use based on the priceof freely traded commodities that require water of the each givenquality type. Then one may define a price index for different qualitiesof water based on the applicable use and price. Finally, one may computea price of water from a particular water source based on the suitabilityof the water for the different categories of water quality or use.

Categories—four general categories of water use are:

-   -   1. Pristine quality—fit to sell and drink untreated as mineral        or spring water; 1a Drinking water derived from icebergs,        treated or untreated    -   2. Domestic—high quality—fit to optionally treat (e.g. add        chlorine, fluoride or other supplements), to sell, and        distribute for drinking or other residential-type purposes (i.e.        showers) that is typically run through a water faucet rather        than placed into bottles for sale;    -   3. Agricultural quality—medium quality;    -   4. Industrial quality—minimum quality, will not harm machines or        manufacturing process.

Water quality may be characterized according to the following aspects:

-   -   1. Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)    -   2. Carbonate Content (H₂CO₃)    -   3. pH    -   4. Hardness (Ca, Mg)—expressed as mg/l CaCO₃    -   5. Sodium (Na)    -   6. Chloride (Cl)    -   7. Nitrate (NO₃)    -   8. Toxins    -   9. Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR)

Specific Requirements

Pristine Water

In order to be salable as spring or mineral water, water has to comefrom a natural source that is drinkable without treatment. In generalthis entails that the water fulfill drinking standards and be protectedfrom contact with human diseases. Practically this applies only topristine ground water (deep groundwater or groundwater from anuninhabited area) which also fulfill drinking water standards.

To qualify as pristine, water must come either from a deep confinedaquifer or from a protected area (e.g. uninhabited area).

Toxins must be within drinking water standards. It is not the intentionherein to list all toxins in water since this is known in the standardand since standards may change over time as to what constitutes a toxin.Rather, what is presented below is an example of how criteria may bedeveloped from available knowledge to produce a systematic quality basedvalue system for water. An example of drinking water standards fortoxins

TABLE 1 Quality requirements for pristine water (Medium quality) TDS<3,500 mg/l H₂CO₃ <1500 mg/l pH 5-10 CaCO₃ 500 mg/l Na <20 mg/l Cl <300mg/l NO₃ <5 mg/l

In some preferred embodiments, there may be a further categorization ofpristine water into grades. For example, bottled water (which is anexample of water from pristine source) may be broken down into gradesand labeled/graded for example as A_(bottled)1, A_(bottled)2,A_(bottled)3 based on whether relative quality of the bottled water ishigh, medium or low.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)

Regulations regarding TDS vary throughout the world. In the UnitedStates, for example, bottled water must contain at least 250 mg/l TDS tobe labeled as mineral water. TDS above 500 mg/l qualifies water as “lowmineral content”; more than 1,500 mg/l allows a “high mineral content”label.

Distilled water has a TDS of 0 mg/l; seawater has about 34,000 mg/l.Most bottled waters fall within a TDS range of 50 to 800 mg/l (Ducale,55 mg/l; Panna, 188 mg/l; Fiji, 210 mg/l; Evian, 357 mg/l; Perrier, 475mg/l), but many highly regarded waters have a much higher TDS (SanPellegrino, 1,109 mg/l; Badoit, 1,200 mg/l; Contrex, 2,032 mg/l;Gerolsteiner, 2,527 mg/l). Some of these waters are thought to becuratives—their mineral compositions are believed to have healingproperties (Famous Crazy, 2,783 mg/l; Vichy Célestins, 3,378 mg/l). Butsome curative waters have a low TDS: Fiuggi, for example, has a TDS ofonly 122 mg/l.

Hardness

Hard water does not negatively affect health or taste. According to theU.S. National Research Council, the magnesium and calcium in hard watercan actually contribute to daily dietary requirements.

pH

pH has a very minor effect on the taste of water and no known healtheffects.

Domestic

Water that meets drinking quality standards, but does not come from aprotected source is not recommended for drinking without treatment(although there are bottlers that sell such water without treatment, thepractice is frowned upon and has led to disease outbreaks). Under anyconditions, while certain brands of “spring water” from suburban wellsmay fetch a high price, this is not a function of the quality of thewater.

Generally, along with meeting health and taste standards, domestic watermust also be fit for general use and transport. This puts limits ondomestic quality water that are not found in more expensive pristinewaters. For example,

-   -   the pH of domestic water must not be too low (in order to        prevent corrosion and leaching of pipes);    -   domestic water should not be too hard (Ca, Mg); hard water makes        cleaning more difficult and more dependent on soaps and        synthetic detergents; hardness also causes scaling in boilers;        softening water adds Na and can have negative effects on the        taste of water;    -   drinking water standards do not allow high TDS in domestic water        (as opposed to prestigious mineral waters).

TABLE 2 Quality requirement for domestic water High quality mediumquality low quality TDS <50 mg/l <150 mg/l <500 mg/l H₂CO₃ 30 < H₂CO₃ <250 mg/l <400 mg/l <500 mg/l pH 5-10  5-10 mg/l  5-10 mg/l CaCO₃ <100mg/l  <200 mg/l <400 mg/l Na  <5 mg/l  <20 mg/l  <50 mg/l Cl <20 mg/l<300 mg/l <400 mg/l NO₃  <1 mg/l  <5 mg/l  <20 mg/l Toxins must be lessthan drinking water standards

Agricultural

A very important factor in the suitability of water for irrigation isthe salt content. The suitability of a water for irrigation isdetermined not only by the total amount of salt present (measured asTDS) but also by the kind of salt. The problems caused by salts varyboth in kind and degree, and are modified by soil, climate and crop, aswell as by the skill and knowledge of the water user. As a result, thereis no set limit on water quality; rather, its suitability for use isdetermined by the conditions of use which affect the accumulation of thewater constituents and which may restrict crop yield. The soil problemsmost commonly encountered and used as a basis to evaluate water qualityare those related to salinity, water infiltration rate, toxicity and agroup of other miscellaneous problems.

Salinity—Salts in soil or water reduce water availability to the crop tosuch an extent that yield is affected.

Water Infiltration Rate—Relatively high sodium or low calcium content ofsoil or water reduces the rate at which irrigation water enters soil tosuch an extent that sufficient water cannot infiltrate to supply thecrop adequately from one irrigation to the next.

Specific Ion Toxicity—Certain ions (sodium, chloride, or boron) fromsoil or water accumulate in a sensitive crop to concentrations highenough to cause crop damage and reduce yields.

Miscellaneous—Excessive nutrients reduce yield or quality; unsightlydeposits on fruit or foliage reduce marketability; excessive corrosionof equipment increases maintenance and repairs.

An important factor in the suitability of water for agriculture which isnot present in drinking water standards is the SAR (Sodium AdsorptionRatio) defined as Na/((Ca+Mg)/2)^(1/2) where Na, Ca, and Mg are theequivalent concentrations of the respective ions in me/l. According tothe FAO the ability of water to infiltrate is controlled by the SAR andthe TDS approximately as follows.

TABLE 3 SAR requirements for agricultural water High quality Mediumquality Low quality 0-3 and TDS =  >500 mg/l  500-75 mg/l  <75 mg/l 3-6= >1000 mg/l 1000-150 mg/l  <150 mg/l 6-12 = >1500 mg/l 1500-400 mg/l <400 mg/l 12-20 = >2000 mg/l 2000-1500 mg/l  <1500 mg/l 20-40 = >5000mg/l 5000-2000 mg/l  <2000 mg/l

TABLE 4 Quality requirements for agricultural water High quality mediumquality low quality TDS <450 mg/l  <2000 mg/l  >2000 mg/l  H₂CO₃ <75mg/l <500 mg/l >500 mg/l pH 6.5-8.4 6.5-8.4 6.5-8.4 CaCO₃ <75 mg/l <500mg/l <2000 mg/l  Na <75 mg/l <200 mg/l <800 mg/l Cl <100 mg/l  <300 mg/l<800 mg/l NO₃ <10 mg/l  <20 mg/l  <50 mg/l

Similar to toxins for drinking water, one may define water as fit foragriculture only if certain plant toxins are within the limitationslisted in table 2 of the attached FAO document Water Quality forAgriculturehttp://www.fao.org/docrep/003/T0234E/T0234E01.htm#ch1.2.industrial

One may assume that industrial use has certain minimal requirements tothe effect that the water not damage machinery.

TABLE 5 Quality requirements for industrial water High Quality Mediumquality Low quality TDS <150 mg/l <350 mg/l <500 mg/l H₂CO₃ 30 < H₂CO₃ <250 mg/l <400 mg/l <500 mg/l pH 6.5-8 mg/l 6.5-8 6.5-8 CaCO₃ <100 mg/l<200 mg/l <200 mg/l Na  <15 mg/l  <30 mg/l  <50 mg/l Cl <100 mg/l <300mg/l <400 mg/l NO₃  <50 mg/l  <50 mg/l <100 mg/l

Quality Categories—an Index Pricing

Based on an analysis of relevant aspects of water quality we can designa unified basis for pricing. For example, the price structure maycategorize water by its most strict use. Then the various qualityaspects may be used to determine quality categories within each primaryuse category.

Water Categories

Water may be categorized into the following four general categories ofuse:

-   -   A. Domestic at least fulfills minimal domestic standards;    -   B. Agricultural—does not meet drinking standards by at least        fulfills minimal agricultural standards;    -   C. Industrial quality—does not fit agricultural or drinking        standards, but fulfills at least minimal industrial standards.

Categories of Water Quality

Pristine Water

Pristine water is water from a pristine natural source that is drinkablewithout treatment. To qualify as pristine, water must come either fromdeep confined aquifer or from a protected area (e.g. uninhabited area).Toxins must be within drinking water standards. For example, to qualifyas “pristine” waters, water will need to fulfill the minimal drinkingwater standards of some large body e.g. the US, the EEC or WHO for toxincontent. In some cases, standards for pristine ready-to-drink water maydiffer from (and even be less strict than) municipal water standards.

Pristine water must come from a protected source, and fulfill therequirements of Table 1, and be within EEC drinking standards except forwhere they differ from Table 1.

Due to the limited marketability of bottled water, pristine water, thevalue of pristine water depends on its secondary use. Pristine water ofmunicipal quality (A1, A2, A3) may be assigned a value of ⅓ the value ofpurified water+⅔ the value of domestic water. Pristine water not ofmunicipal quality (B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3) may be assigned a value of ¼the value of bottled water+¾ the value of water for secondary use.(Since pristine water is to be used for drinking, pristine water loses alot of value if it does not fit drinking standards). It should beunderstood that these assigned fractions (⅓ and ⅔; ¼ and ¾) are merelyexamples of fractions that may be chosen to effectuate weightedcombinations and other fractional amounts (or non-fractionalcoefficients) may be used.

For example, the value of purified water (used to calculate the value ofpristine water) may be calculated from the prices of ready-to-drinkwaters (bottled water and purified water). An example of suchcalculation is given in U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239; there, the value ofpurified water is labeled Pb and may sometimes be referred to as“bottled water”. Herein the terms “bottled water” and Pb may also beused in the more general sense of “ready to drink waters”.

In an alternative arrangement, pristine water may also receive asecondf* bonus/penalty due to its secondary use. If the A1 water ALSOfulfills A2 standards then f*=1.2. If the A2 water does not fulfill A2standards but fulfills A3 standards then f*=1. If the A1 water does notfulfill A3 standards but fulfills B3 standards then f*=0.5. If the A2water does not fulfill A3 standards or B1 standards then f*=0.3.

A1, A2, A3: Domestic

Water that meets drinking quality standards, but does not necessarilycome from a protected source is not recommended for drinking withouttreatment.

A1 water must fulfill the requirements of high quality drinking waterfrom Table 2, and be within EEC drinking standards except for where theydiffer from the requirements of high quality drinking water from Table2.

A2 water must fulfill the requirements of medium quality drinking waterfrom Table 2, and be within EEC drinking standards except for where theydiffer from the requirements of medium quality drinking water from Table2.

A3 water must fulfill the requirements of low quality drinking waterfrom Table 2, and be within EEC drinking standards except for where theydiffer from the requirements of low quality drinking water from Table 2.

B1, B2, B3: Agricultural

Category B is for water that is not pristine and not fit for drinking(domestic) use, but is fit for agricultural use.

-   -   B1—fulfills the medium quality standards of Table 3 and the high        quality standards of Table 4.    -   B2—fulfills all of medium quality standards of Table 3 and Table        4.    -   B3—fulfills all of low quality standards of Table 3 and Table 4.

Similar to toxins for drinking water, one may define water as fit foragriculture only if certain plant toxins are within the limitationslisted in table 2 of the attached FAO document Water Quality forAgriculture http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/T0234E/T0234E01.htm#ch1.2,incorporated herein by reference.

Alternatively, agricultural waters may be graded according tosuitability to a given crop. For example, waters suitable for all cropsmay be defined as B1 whereas water suitable for grain and trees but notfor vegetables may be B2 and water suitable for trees only may be B3.

C1, C2, C3: Industrial

Category C is for water that is not pristine and not fit for drinking(domestic) use, and is not fit for agricultural use, but is fit orindustrial use. Subcategories of category C may be created. For example,

C1—fulfills all of high quality standards of Table 5.C2—fulfills all of medium quality standards of Table 5.C3—fulfills all of low quality standards of Table 5.

Pricing

From the above, various possible pricing systems can be made. Forexample:

From U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239 to Shirazi the prices of water according touse are:

TOTAL Fresh Expc domestic desalinate bottled purify food crops biofuelsPortion 0.05 0.5 0.0995 0.0005 0.05 0.2 0.1 Value $0.92 $0.77 $2.11$200.00 $1.75 $0.20 $0.22 $0.89 W * X 0.046 0.38375 0.209945 0.1 0.08750.0396 0.022 bottled = bottled + purify: portion = Wb = 0.05 + 0.0005 =0.0505; price = Pb = (.05($1.75) + 0.0005($200))/0.0505 = $3.71 domestic= domestic + export + desalinate; portion = Wd = 0.05 + 0.5 + .0995 =0.65; price = Pd = (.05($0.92) + 0.5($0.77) + 0.0995($2.11))/0.65 =$0.99 agriculture = food crops portion = Wa = 0.2; price = Pa = $0.040industrial = biofuels portion = Wi = 0.1; price = Pi = $0.022

TABLE 6 Water prices index from Shirazi U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239 BottledDomestic Agriculture Industrial (Wb Pb) (Wd Pd) (Wa Pa) (Wi Pi) Portion(W) 0.05 0.65 0.2 0.1 Price (P) $3.71 $0.99 $0.04 $0.022

In the above Table 6, “Portion (W)” may be described as the market shareof that category of water in the total fresh water market.

We will take the base water price of agricultural water as Pa=$0.04.Then the price will be adjusted as follows. The three rows of Table 7abelow represent different levels of suitability relative to certainwater quality standards of water that comes from a particular source, orspecific water being sold:

Water Pricing:

TABLE 7a Calculations for Water from a Pristine Source - Depending onwhich Quality Standards it fulfills A - Domestic B - Agriculture C -industrial 1 How calculate Pb/3 + 2Pd/3 Pb/4 + 3Pa/4 Pb/4 + 3Pi/4Calculation 3.7/3 + 2(.99)/3 3.7/4 + 3(.04)/4 3.7/4 + 3(.02)/4 Price 1.90.96 0.94 2 How calculate Pb/3 + 2Pd(0.6)/3 Pb/4 + 3Pa(0.6)/4 Pb/4 +3Pi(0.6)/4 Calculation 3.7/3 + 2(.99)0.6/3 3.7/4 + 3(.04)0.6/4 3.7/4 +3(.02)0.6/4 Price 1.6 0.95 0.94 3 How calculate Pb/3 + 2Pd(0.3)/3 Pb/4 +3Pa(0.3)/4 Pb/4 + 3Pi(0.3)/4 Calculation 3.7/3 + 2(.99)0.3/3 3.7/4 +3(.04)0.3/4 3.7/4 + 3(.02)0.3/4 Price  0.96 0.94 0.93

Pristine water of municipal quality (A1, A2, A3) has been assumed inthese calculations to have a value of ⅓ the value of purified water+⅔the value of domestic water. It should be understood that these assignedfractions (⅓ and ⅔; ¼ and ¾) are merely examples of fractions that maybe chosen to effectuate weighted combinations and other fractionalamounts (or non-fractional coefficients) may be used.

Pristine water not of municipal quality (B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3) hasbeen assumed in these calculations to have a value of ¼ the value ofpurified water+¾ secondary use. The selection of the fraction may differand this is only an example of how to mathematically represent aweighted combination.

TABLE 8b Calculations for non-Pristine Water A - Domestic B -Agriculture C - industrial 1 How calculate Pd Pa Pi Calculation 0.990.04 0.02 Price 0.99 0.04 0.02 2 How calculate 0.6Pd 0.6Pa 0.6PiCalculation 0.6(0.99) 0.6(0.04) 0.6(0.02) Price 0.59 0.024 0.012 3 Howcalculate 0.3Pd 0.3Pa 0.3Pi Calculation 0.3(0.99) 0.3(0.04) 0.3(0.02)Price 0.3 0.012 0.006

The calculated price will be the price factor times the base price(Pa=$0.04). Thus, the resulting index prices are in dollars per m³ basedon the Shirazi U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239 data:

TABLE 9a Example category prices Pristine Water Water Index Price in$/m3 A - Domestic B - Agriculture C - industrial 1 $1.90 $0.96 $0.94 2$1.63 $0.95 $0.94 3 $1.43 $0.94 $0.93

TABLE 10b Example category prices Non-Pristine Water Water Index Pricein $/m3 A - Domestic B - Agriculture C - industrial 1 $0.99 $0.04 $0.022 $0.59 $0.02 $0.01 3 $0.30 $0.01 $0.01

The water price index may take into account geographical preferences(i.e. pristine A1 water from Iceland may be more valuable that pristineA1 water from Brazil).

Packaging infrastructure, distance from markets and transportationroutes may also have to be taken into account when formulating a finalprice for the fresh water. Transportation and storage costs may be asignificant part of the overall price of a final price that a buyerpays. The price of fresh water displayed in a commodities exchange orwhich is used for a financial instrument may include the storage andtransport costs or in other case do not include such costs. Examples ofpackaging include shipping containers, large plastic bags holding thefresh water and in situ (at the source of the water) storage.Optionally, the market for natural gas may be considered as a model forthese storage and transportation factors since, like water, a large partof the price of natural gas is for transport.

EXAMPLES

Based on the above water a good municipal water supply would (forexample) have an A2 rating.

Ulvato bottled water is grade A1 (pristine) but does not fit domesticwater standards (to high TDS) or agricultural standards (to low pH)therefore f*=0.3 and would be evaluated as 0.3*1.8840.57/m³

Ulvato Water:

752 TDS 5.8 ph factor 796 Hardness 171 Calcium 79 Chloride 1 Fluoride574 Hydrogeniccarbonate 28 Magnesium 6.9 Nitrate 8 Potassium 11 Silica74 Sodium 104 Sulphates

Santa Vittoria water is pristine and gets A1 rating. It is also does notmeet A2 high quality domestic water standards (too high TDS carbonatesand nitrate) but does fulfill A3 standards therefore f*=1 and the indexprice is $1.88/m³.

Santa Vittoria Analysis:

Temp. at source: 47° F. (8.3° C.)

169 TDS 8 ph factor 36.2 Calcium 0.9 Chloride 189.0 Hydrogen carbonate18.4 Magnesium 2.5 Nitrate 0.5 Potassium 0.6 Sodium

Lake Placid N.Y. for example would get an A2 rating, and therefore anindex price of $0.90/m³.

Pricing—Another Possible System

Other possible pricing systems can be made. For example:

Starting with the index prices of U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239 to Shirazi(Table 6) another way of computing a price would be to add a suitabilityfactor (f) to the price equation of U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,239 to Shirazi.P=Fb*Pb*Wb+Fd*Pd*Wdb+Fa*Pa*Wa+Fi*Pi*Wi

For example: For a given water and use:

-   -   f=1.0 if the water is high quality for that use    -   f=0.8 if the water is medium quality for that use    -   f=0.5 if the water is high low for that use    -   f=0.25 if the water is not fit for that use

Thus, the price of water fit for being bottled Fb=1.0, highly fit fordomestic Fd=1.0, well fit for agriculture Fa-4.0 and well fit forindustry Fi=1.0 may be computed as the following combination ofelements:

1.0*0.05*3.71+1.0*0.65*0.99+1.0*0.2*0.4+1.0*0.1*0.022=0.83

In another example, the price of water not fit for bottled Fb=0.25,having medium fitness for domestic Fd=0.8, well fit for agricultureFa=1.0 and well fit for industry Fi=1.0 may be computed by combining asfollows:

0.25*0.05*3.71+0.8*0.65*0.99+1.0*0.2*0.4+1.0*0.1*0.022=0.57

In a third example, the price of water fit for being bottled Fb=1.0, lowfit for domestic Fd=0.5, low fit for agriculture Fa=0.5 and well fit forindustry Fi=1.0 may be calculated as

1.0*0.05*3.71+0.5*0.65*0.99+0.5*0.2*0.4+1.0*0.1*0.022=0.57.

In each of the above three examples, each of the four addends comprisethree multiplicands including (1) the suitability factor of the waterfor a respective water quality category, (2) a market share of the waterquality category and (3) a price index for water of that water qualitycategory.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the present invention may in general becharacterized as a method 100 for investing in fresh water based on aquality of the fresh water. Method 100 may have a step 110 of (a)determining, using a computer processor, current prices of at least oneroot commodity other than water (all root commodities being other thanwater), each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having atleast one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and(ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity.

Another step 120 of method 100 may be associating or matching each of atleast one water quality category in a plurality of water qualitycategories with at least one root commodity of the plurality of rootcommodities. The matching or associating may be such that a quality ofwater (i) that is used in production of the root commodity and/or (ii)that is constituent in the root commodity, meets (or in other preferredembodiments is related to) water quality standards of the respectivewater quality category. An example of matching/associating is to takecorn as a root commodity and match or associate either the waterconstituent in corn and/or the water used in the production of corn,with water quality category B1, B2 or B3 (water that is suitable foragricultural use and fits certain standards of Tables 3 and 4). One maymake the assumption, for example, that water in corn and/or water usedin the production of corn meets (or in other preferred embodiments isotherwise related to) the water quality standards B1 or B2 or B3. Step120 may in some preferred embodiments be performed by a processor.

Alternative versions of step 120 (or equivalent steps/elements of othermethods/systems) may be possible. That is, one may associate or matcheach of at least one water quality category in at least one waterquality categories with at least one root commodity such that a qualityof water (i) that is used in production of the root commodity and/or(ii) that is constituent in the root commodity, is related to waterquality standards of the respective water quality category in some otherway. To take one example, instead of meeting the standard, the watermeets part of the standard or meets the lowest acceptable example of thestandard or is within 50% (or another percentage) of the standard. Inany method or system of the present invention, instead of a waterquality category, the association may be made between a water qualitygrade (i.e. “A1”) within the broader water quality category and the atleast one root commodity.

A further step 130 of method 100 may be determining, using a computerprocessor, for each water quality category of the at least one waterquality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting saideach water quality category, the index value determined based on acurrent price of said each root commodity that was matched with saideach water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantityof fresh water constituent in said each root commodity that was matchedwith said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh waterused in production of said each root commodity that was matched withsaid each water quality category.

Method 100 may also include physically measuring fresh water of at leastone water source with respect to chemical or physical criteria of thewater, for example measuring at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio,to determine the water quality category and/or the water quality gradeof fresh water from that water source. The results of the measuring maybe compared to pre-set water quality standards in the form of ranges ofeach item (e.g. TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride,nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio) associated with each waterquality category and/or water quality grade, as set forth in Tables 1through 5 above and in the suggested definitions of water quality gradesA1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3 discussed above. The water qualitymeasuring may be performed using one or more water quality measuringdevices 380, 680, 780 (see FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8). Updates of the waterquality of a water source may be performed by re-measuring the watersource using a water measuring device at a reasonable interval.Typically, water sources may be re-measured and updated as to qualitycategories and grades annually or in some cases more frequently or lessfrequently.

Method 100 (or method 200 or method 800) may have a further stepinvolving a display. In some preferred embodiments, such as shown inFIG. 5B, the further step may comprise displaying on a display 330associated with a computer an updateable current price of one or moreroot commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of aparticular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii)water quality category and water quality grade, wherein the currentprice of the fresh water of the particular water quality is dependent onthe current price of the one or more root commodities. The arrow in FIG.5B indicates that the displayed prices and indicia are moving like a“ticker tape”.

A numerically significant change in the current price of the one or moreroot commodities (which may be viewed as an independent variable) mayresult in a visible change in the current price of the fresh water ofthe particular water quality (which may be viewed as a dependentvariable). A “numerically significant” change in the price of theindependent variable may be defined as a change that is enough to bringabout a change of at least one digit of the displayed price of thedependent variable.

In other preferred embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5A, the further stepinvolving the display may comprise displaying on a first portion of adisplay associated with a computer (which may be the computer processorused in step 120) at least one of the current index values for freshwater (which may be updateable) and some name or indicia (i.e. “waterB3”) identifying water as the commodity and/or the category and/or gradeof fresh water whose current index value is displayed on the firstportion. In any method or system of the present invention, an indiciamay identify a category of fresh water by denoting water of thatcategory even without including the term “water” or the term “H₂O” aspart of the indicia such as by using some other symbol known to thosewho may view the display as indicating water or water of a particularquality category and/or grade. The display may also display on a secondportion of the display a current price of at least one root commodityfrom which the at least one of the current index values is derived andsome name or indicia (i.e. “corn”) identifying a root commodity (andpreferably each such root commodity) whose current price is displayed onthe second portion. Accordingly, an independent variable being a currentprice of at least one root commodity may be displayed on one portion ofthe display and a dependent variable being a current price of at leastone water quality category and/or grade may be displayed on a differentportion of the display. This may cause the prices of the fresh water(and its quality) and its dependence on the root commodity prices to bemore conspicuous.

It should be understood that the displays of FIGS. 5A and 5B are merelyexamples of how the prices/indices may be displayed. Furthermore, inFIG. 5A, the first and second portions 331, 332 of the display 330 areshown one on top of the other and as a moving “tape”. This is of coursenot a limitation and the first and second portion can be in a statictable format or in any other visible format.

In any method or system of the present invention, the current indexvalues or the at least one of the current index values displayed may beupdated over time as the factors used in determining the pricethemselves get updated. For example, the displayed current price of theone or more root commodities may vary and be updated. In addition, ifthere are multiple root commodities, the market share of the variousrespective root commodities may change. In addition, the amount of waterconstituent in the root commodities may change and the amount of waterused in production of a root commodity may change, although these lattertwo factors are not as likely to change as often as the market share orprice. With respect to any of the methods or systems of the presentinvention, the display and in particular the prices and index values onthe display, may be accessible to the public either by appearing on aweb site or on a ticker tape on a building or in other ways known in theart for the display of commodity prices.

In some preferred embodiments, a further step of the method 100 may bedetermining, using a processor, a price of fresh water derived from aparticular water source (or a specific amount of water being sold) bydetermining a current level of suitability of that fresh water for eachof the plurality of water quality categories and by then combining allof the current index values of the fresh water of each water qualitycategories together by weighting each index value being combined by (i)the determined current level of suitability of the fresh water beingpriced (i.e. water from the particular water source or the specificquantity of water being sold) for each of the plurality of water qualitycategories and by (ii) a market share of water from each water qualitycategory.

An example of use of the level of suitability is provided above using asuitability factor (f).

As shown in FIG. 2, another method 200 of the present invention issimilar to method 100 except that the matching or associating step 220may be performed such that a quality of water that is constituent in therespective root commodity meets (or in other preferred embodiments isotherwise related to) water quality standards of the respective waterquality category. It should be understood that in any method (or system)of the present invention, there is no limit to the number of rootcommodities that are used to derive the current price of the fresh waterof a particular quality category and/or grade.

As shown in FIG. 3, the present invention may be described as a method800 of using financial instruments to invest in fresh water based ofwater quality. Method 800 may have a step 810 of determining, using acomputer processor, a price of each of the financial instrumentsidentifying on its face a particular amount of fresh water of aparticular water quality category, the price of each financialinstrument determined using an index value of fresh water of aparticular water quality category. Step 820 may be having a computerstore water quality standards for a plurality of water qualitycategories. Method 800 may have additional steps that are similar tomethods 100 or 200 or 400 (or in other embodiments to the stepsperformed by the computer in systems 300 or 600). For example, method800 may have a step 830 of determining, using a computer processor,current prices of at least one root commodity, the root commoditiesbeing other than water, each root commodity in the at least one rootcommodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said eachroot commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each rootcommodity. Step 840 may be associating each water quality category ofthe at least one water quality category with a root commodity of theleast one root commodity. The associating or matching may be such that aquality of water either (i) constituent in a respective root commodityand/or (ii) used in production of the respective root commodity, meets(or in other embodiments is related to) water quality standards of therespective water quality category. Step 850 may be determining, using acomputer processor, for each water quality category of the at least onewater quality category, the index value for fresh water meeting saideach water quality category, the index value determined based on acurrent price of said each root commodity associated with said eachwater quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity offresh water constituent in said each root commodity associated with saideach water quality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used inproduction of said each root commodity associated with said each waterquality category.

Method 800 may, in some preferred embodiments, have a step of displayingon a first portion of a display (such as the display 330 shown in FIG.5A) associated with a computer processor at least one of the indexvalues for fresh water, the display also displaying on a second portionof the display (or in some embodiments also on the first portion of thedisplay) a price of at least one root commodity from which the at leastone of the index values is derived, the at least one of the index valuesand the price of the at least one root commodity each being updated overtime. In some preferred embodiments, a user looking at display 330 coulddiscern changes in a price index of at least one root commodity followedby changes in a price index of at least one water quality category orgrade within such water quality category such that the changes in theprice index of the at least one water quality category may appear to berelated to changes in the price index of the at least one rootcommodity.

In any of the methods 100, 200 or 800, or systems 300, 600, the waterquality categories may have standards specifying ranges for at least oneof, at least two of, at least three of, at least four of, at least fiveof or at least any other number of or all of the following: TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio.

As seen by the high-level block diagram of FIG. 6A, a system 300 of thepresent invention may include a computer processor 352 and may havemultiple computer memory devices such as a RAM 354, a boot ROM 356, amass storage device 358 such as a hard disk 358. The memory devices maycommunicate to the processor 352 through a bus 66 and may communicate toeach other through a common bus 366. Computer-readable program code 361may be stored in a memory device such as mass storage device 58 and maybe executed by processor 352 to access the memory device. Mass storagedevice 358 is an example of a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having computer-readable code for implementing the data storagemethodology described.

As seen by the high-level block diagram of FIG. 6B, a system 300B of thepresent invention, system 300B may include a computer 310 having acomputer processor 352 and multiple computer memory devices such as aRAM 354, a boot ROM 356, a hard disk 358 for mass storage and a flashmemory device 364 known in the art. The memory devices may communicateto the processor 352 through a bus 366 and may communicate to each otherthrough a common bus 366. A software driver 360 of a memory device suchas flash memory device 64 may be stored in mass storage device 358 andmay be executed by processor 352 to access the memory device such asflash memory device 364. Driver 360 may include a module 362 forencoding data to be stored in the memory device such as flash memorydevice 364 and for decoding codewords received from of the memory devicesuch as lash memory device 364. The components of the system 300B otherthan the flash memory device 364 may comprise a host 370 of flash memorydevice 364, which may be computer 310. Mass storage device 358 is anexample of a non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable code 61 for implementing the data storage methodologydescribed.

The computer-readable program code 361 of FIG. 6A (or of FIG. 6B) may beembedded in a non-transitory computer readable medium and may beexecuted by processor 352. The program code 61 may comprise program codefor executing any of the several processing functions to be described.

FIG. 6A schematically depicts a system 300. FIG. 6B schematicallydepicts a similar system 300B but one that includes flash memory drive.Each of system 300A, 300B may be for trading fresh water based on waterquality, may comprise a computer 310 that may include a processor 352,may be linked to any or all of the multiple computer memory storagedevices mentioned above (i.e. 354, 356 (or also flash memory drive 364in the case of system 300B seen in FIG. 6B) and may have software 361for operation of computer 310. Computer 310 and/or the program code 361may comprise program code for determining current prices of at least oneor a plurality of root commodities, the root commodities being otherthan water, each root commodity in the plurality of root commoditieshaving at least one of (i) water as a constituent in the root commodityand (ii) water utilized in production of the root commodity.

Computer 310 and/or the program code 361 may comprise program code forstoring water quality standards for at least one or a plurality of waterquality categories.

Computer 310 and/or the program code 361 may comprise program code forprocessing associations between each of at least one water qualitycategory with at least one root commodity. Processing associations maycomprise determining associations from data provided and/or may includestoring associations for further application. Computer 310 and/orprogram code 361 may include (or be linked or associated with) a memorystorage device (i.e. 354, 356, 358 (and also flash memory storage 364 inthe case of system 300B) to store these associations between each of atleast one water quality category with at least one root commodity. Theassociations may be such that a quality of water that is either (orboth) (i) used in production of the root commodity or (ii) that is aconstituent of the root commodity, meets (or in other embodiments isotherwise related to) water quality standards of the respective waterquality category. If the determining of the associations is notperformed by the computer then the computer may only store theassociations and apply them.

Computer 310 and/or the program code 361 may also include program codefor determining a current index value for fresh water of each of thewater quality categories based on a current price of said each rootcommodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh waterconstituent in the root commodity associated with said each waterquality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in productionof the root commodity.

System 300 may also include a water quality measuring device 380 ormeasuring fresh water of at least one water source (that has freshwater) with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratioto categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by waterquality category and/or to categorize the fresh water of the at leastone water source by water quality grade within a water quality categoryof the fresh water of the at least one water source. The water qualitymeasuring device 380 may comprise a device for measuring at least one ofTDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxinsand sodium adsorption ratio. In preferred embodiments, the watermeasuring device 380 (as well 680 of system 600) may include more thanone water measuring devices and/or may be configured to measure at leasttwo, at least three, at least four, at least five, at least six, atleast, a majority, and preferably all of the above-mentioned physical orchemical criteria (TDS, carbonate content, pH. Harness, sodium chloride,nitrate, toxins and SAR).

Computer 310 may be configured to receive data from water qualitymeasuring device, or from a computer or other device that stores suchdata and to compare the received data against stored water qualitystandards to determine a water quality category and/or water qualitygrade for the fresh water.

System 300 (as well as any of the other systems of the present inventionsuch as systems 300B, 600, 700) may also include a financial instrument(shown as 340 in Shirazi '239 patent FIG. 1), such as a certificate 106(see, e.g. Shirazi '239 patent FIG. 1) or a bond, a share, a stock, afuture, reciting on its face a quantity of fresh water (and/or an indexvalue or price for fresh water of a particular quality category). Thememory devices of system 300 may also be for storing one or more indexvalues for fresh water of each water quality category.

As shown in FIG. 5A, system 300 may further comprise a display 330associated with the computer 310 for displaying an independent variableon a first portion 331 of the display 330 such as at least one 333 ofthe current index values for fresh water and a name or indicia 334 (i.e.“water B3”) identifying the commodity as water and/or the category offresh water whose current index value is displayed on the first portion,the display also displaying on a second portion 332 of the display 330(or in some embodiments also on the first portion of the display) adependent variable such as a current price 338 of at least one rootcommodity from which the at least one of the current index values isderived and a name or an indicia 339 (i.e. “corn”) identifying a rootcommodity (and preferably each such root commodity) whose current priceis displayed on the second portion. In some preferred embodiments, auser looking at display 330 is able to see changes in a price index ofat least one root commodity (which may be an independent variable)followed by changes in a price index of fresh water that is of at leastone water quality category and/or water quality grade (within a waterquality category) (which may be a dependent variable) such that thechanges in the price index of the at least one water quality categorymay appear to be related to changes in the price index of the at leastone root commodity. As stated, a numerically significant change in theindependent variable may result in a visible change of at least onedigit in the dependent variable. Although FIG. 5A displays theindependent variable and the dependent variable in different portions,in other preferred embodiments, the independent variable and thedependent variable are displayed in the same portion of the display.

In some preferred embodiments of the display for system 300 (or forsystem 300B or 600) the system (300, 300B or 600) includes a display330B (as shown in FIG. 5B) associated with a computer for displaying anupdateable current price of one or more root commodities and anupdateable current price of fresh water of a particular (i) waterquality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water qualitycategory and water quality grade, such that the current price of thefresh water of the particular water quality is dependent on the currentprice of the one or more root commodities. As shown in FIG. 5B, in somepreferred embodiments of the present invention the displayed prices ofthe at least one root commodity 338B and of the current prices of thefresh water 333B are situated in the same portion 332B of the display330B.

In another characterization of the display 330 (or 330B) associated withthe computer of the system 300 or 600, the display is for displaying oneor more of the current index values for fresh water and an indiciaidentifying either water or a category of fresh water for each one ofthe current index value displayed on the first portion, the display alsodisplaying a current price of at least one root commodity from which theat least one of the current index values is derived and an indiciaidentifying each of the at least one root commodity whose current priceis displayed on the display.

The at least one water quality category may include one or two or threefrom the following categories (i) a first water quality category forwater that meets minimal standards for either drinking or domestic use,(ii) a second water quality category for water that does not meetstandards for drinking water but meets minimal standards foragricultural quality water and (iii) a third water quality category forwater that does not meet standards for agricultural quality water ordrinking water but meets minimal standards for industrial quality water.If the first water category is broken down into two water qualitycategories, namely drinking and domestic, then the water qualitycategories of system 300 (and of method 100 or method 200 or system 600)may include at least one or at least two or three or four of the fourwater quality categories (or at least a plurality or majority or someother specific number of categories plus any subcategories referred toas water quality grades). Moreover, water from icebergs may be viewed asa subcategory of drinking water in any method or system of the presentinvention.

The water quality standards used in the water quality categories and/orgrades in any method or system of the present invention may specifyranges for at least one of (or at least two or at least three or four orfive or any other plurality or majority or all of the following physicaland/or chemical criteria or yardsticks): TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.Examples of the specific ranges are provided in Tables 1 through 5herein.

Computer 310 of system 300 may in some preferred embodiments alsodetermine, using its processor, a price of fresh water derived from aparticular water source (or a specific amount of water being sold) bydetermining a current level of suitability of that fresh water for eachof at least one water quality category and/or grades or at least twowater quality categories (and/or grades) and by then mathematicallycombining all of the current index values of the fresh water of eachwater quality categories (and/or grade) together, for example byweighting each index value being combined by (i) the determined currentlevel of suitability of the fresh water being priced (i.e. water fromthe particular water source or the specific quantity of water beingsold) for each of the at least one (or at least two, at least three,etc.) water quality categories and by (ii) a market share of water fromeach water quality category (and/or water quality grade) of the at leastone water quality category. The determination of the current level ofsuitability may be updated on a regular basis such as daily, weekly,monthly, annually, hourly, each minute or at any other reasonable timeinterval. This determination of the current level of suitability mayalso apply to system 600.

A further embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 is asystem 600 for trading fresh water based on water quality. System 600may comprise at least one computer 610 of at least one commoditiesexchange 608 outputting prices of various commodities and in particularvarious commodities that are not water. At least one of thesecommodities may be a root commodity that either has fresh water as aconstituent or whose production utilizes fresh water or both. To takeone simple example of a root commodity, corn may be a root commoditysince it contains water and independently since it utilizes water in itproduction.

Instead of a commodities exchange any other source of updateable currentinformation on commodities prices that is linked to a computer may beused. An example of this is a web site having commodities prices linkedto a server computer.

System 600 may also include a system computer 620 having the hardwareand software elements shown in FIGS. 6A-6B for systems 300 and 300B. Forexample, system computer 620 may have a processor 622, one or morememory storage devices 624 linked to the processor 622 and code foroperating the system computer 620. The system computer 620 may be linked(for example by a telecommunications link) with, and may be configuredto receive from, the at least one computer 610 of the at least onecommodities exchange updateable price data for the commodities. Thesystem computer 620 may be configured to identify root commodities andextract, from the updateable price data, the current price for theidentified root commodities. In addition, the system computer 620 and/orprocessor 622 may also configured to or programmed to

(a) store water quality standards for at least one of or at least two of(or at least three of etc.) water quality categories and/or grades,

(b) process associations (i.e. determine and/or store associations)between each of at least one of the water quality categories (and/orgrades) in the at least one (or at least two, etc.) water qualitycategory with at least one identified root commodity of the at least oneidentified root commodities such that a quality of water used inproduction (and/or that is constituent in the identified root commodity)of the identified root commodity meets (or in some preferred embodimentsis related to) water quality standards of the respective water qualitycategory.

(c) compute, for each water quality category of the at least one waterquality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting saideach water quality category, the current index value determined based ona current price of said each identified root commodity associated withsaid each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) aquantity of fresh water constituent in said each identified rootcommodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) aquantity of fresh water used in production of said each identified rootcommodity associated with said each water quality category. Processor622 may also be programmed to compute the current index value byreference to a market share of respective water sales in respectivewater quality qualities (and/or grades) and/or by reference to a marketshare of various root commodities.

The system computer 620 may be configured to transmit the computedcurrent index value of each water quality category to the at least onecomputer 610. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 7, this may complete a datacycle that may include a first leg running from the at least onecomputer 610 to the system computer 620 and a return leg or second legrunning from the system computer 620 to the at least one computer 610.The data cycle may involve extracting commodity price data from computer610 and returning prices of water, for example prices based on waterquality, from system computer 620 to the at least one computer 610.

System 600 may also include a water quality measuring device 680 formeasuring fresh water of at least one water source with respect to atleast one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride,nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the freshwater of the at least one water source by water quality category and/orto categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by waterquality grade within a water quality category of the fresh water of theat least one water source. System computer 620 may be configured toreceive data from water quality measuring device 680, or from a computeror other device that stores such data and to compare the received dataagainst stored water quality standards to determine a water qualitycategory and/or water quality grade for the fresh water.

As shown in FIG. 7, system 600 may also include a display 630 (of thekind shown in FIG. 5A for example) associated with the at least onecomputer 610. The “association” may allow feeding and displaying ofupdated current prices in real time. The prices or indices of theindependent variable and of the dependent variable may be updated atintervals of months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds or any otherreasonable interval. The display 330 may have a first portion 331 and asecond display portion 332. Display 330 may display at least one currentindex value for fresh water of a water quality category and/or grade infirst portion 331 of the display which may be updated over time and maydisplay prices of identified root commodities from which the at leastone current index value for fresh water is derived on second portion 332of the display which may be updated over time. In one example shown inFIG. 5A, there are two adjacent and moving areas of the display, such as“ticker tapes”, one showing prices and names of root commodities and oneshowing prices and names of water commodities, i.e. fresh water of aparticular grade or water quality category. A viewer may be able toobserve both portions of display 330 and may be able to observe that asthe prices of the underlying root commodities changes, there is a changein the price of a related or associated water index, i.e. a water indexwhose price is derived from such root commodity as computed by aprocessor using factors, relationships, algorithms, calculations,functions and/or methods described in this patent application.

Alternatively, as shown by the dashed lines in FIG. 7, the display 330may be associated with system computer 620 rather than the at least onecomputer 610 or may be associated with both of them (610, 620).

As shown by FIG. 8, the present invention may also be described as asystem 700 for trading fresh water based on water quality. System 700may comprise a water quality measuring device 780 for measuring freshwater of at least one water source with respect to at least one of TDS,carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins andsodium adsorption ratio. System 700 may also include a computer havingthe components described with respect to systems 300, 300B (processor,memory etc.). As exemplified by the arrow in FIG. 8, the results or dataascertained by the device 780 may be transmitted to a computer 710 forstorage and processing. Specifically, computer 710 may be configured toreceive data from the water quality measuring device with respect to thefresh water in regard to the at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH,hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratioand for comparing the received data to stored water quality standards todetermine a water quality category for the fresh water.

Computer 710 may also be (and may have programming instructions in code)for determining current prices of at least one root commodity that isother than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodityhaving at least one of (i) water as a constituent in the root commodityand (ii) water utilized in production of the root commodity, forprocessing associations between each of at least one water qualitycategory and at least one root commodity; and for determining a currentindex value for fresh water of each water quality category of the atleast one water quality categories based on a current price of said eachroot commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of freshwater constituent in the root commodity associated with said each waterquality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in productionof the root commodity.

In some embodiments of system 700, computer 710 may also be fordetermining a water quality grade, and for processing associationsbetween each of at least one water quality grade with the at least oneroot commodity; and determining a current index value for fresh water ofeach water quality grade based on a current price of said each rootcommodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh waterconstituent in the root commodity associated with said each waterquality grade and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used in production ofthe root commodity. System 700 may also include a display 730 associatedwith computer 710, for example a display 730 similar to the displayshown in FIG. 5A or FIG. 5B, and may have the features described inrelation to the display of the previously described methods and/orsystems of the present invention. For example, display 730 may displayboth an independent variable (i.e. updateable current prices of at leastone root commodity) and a dependent variable (updateable current pricesof fresh water of a particular water quality category and/or waterquality grade. The fresh water whose price may comprise the dependentvariable may be a constituent of and/or may be utilized in theproduction of, at least one of the root commodities whose price maycomprise the independent variable or variables.

In any of the systems or methods of the present invention, a computerprocessor may use one or more mathematical operations to mathematicallycombine factors such as a quantity of fresh water constituent in a rootcommodity, a quality of fresh water utilized in production of a rootcommodity, a price of a root commodity, a market share (market weight)of fresh water of a particular water quality category and/or gradewithin a total market of fresh water, a suitability factor, a base priceof water, an adjustment factor, a market share of one or more particularroot commodities out of a total market of all relevant root commodities,a quantity of fresh water in a particular collateral, a quantity offresh water described on the face of a financial instrument or otherfactors. Any of these factors may be updated regularly at reasonableintervals as necessary and if possible and appropriate in real time.Prices of root commodities, for example, may be updated in real timefrom a commodities exchange (see 608 in FIG. 7). Data for determiningmarket shares and prices of products may come from publicly availablestatistics, for example information available over the Internet (forexample statistics may be acquired from web sites associated withcommodities markets, futures markets, stock exchanges (for example atN.Y., Chicago, London, Tokyo) and therefore can be updated easily inreal time. Alternatively, statistics may be updated from periodicallyfrom published statistics or from statistics released from a governmentagency.

Any of the commodities referred to herein may be publicly tradedcommodities.

As seen from FIG. 4, the present invention may be described as a method400 for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the fresh water.Method 400 may comprise a step 410 of determining, using a computerprocessor, current prices of one or more (or of two or more or three ormore, etc.) root commodities, the root commodities being other thanwater, each root commodity in the at least one or (or at least two etc)root commodities having at least one of (i) water as a constituent insaid each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of saideach root commodity. Step 420 may involve matching each of at least onewater quality category and/or water quality grade in the at least onewater quality category and/or grade with at least one root commodity ofthe at least one (or at least two, etc) root commodity. Step 430 maycomprise determining, using a computer processor, for each water qualitycategory (and/or grade) of the at least one water quality category, acurrent index value for fresh water meeting said each water qualitycategory, the index value determined based on a current price of saideach root commodity that was matched with said each water qualitycategory and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh waterconstituent in said each root commodity that was matched with said eachwater quality category and (ii) a quantity of fresh water used inproduction of said each root commodity that was matched with said eachwater quality category. The computer processor involved in method 400(as well as the processor of methods 100, 200 and 800) may be theprocessor 352 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B for systems 300A and 300B.

A further step of method 400 may involve using a processor to determinean adjusted current index value by adjusting the price of pristine waterbased on a suitability of the pristine water for two or three of thefollowing: (i) drinking, (ii) agricultural use and (iii) industrial useas shown in Table 7a and Table 9a. If the water is non-pristine water,then a further step may involve adjusting, using a processor, the priceof non-pristine water based on a suitability of the non-pristine waterfor at least one (or in other preferred embodiments at least two) of (i)drinking, (ii) agricultural use and (iii) industrial use as shown inTable 8b and Table 10b to determine an adjusted current index value.

As with other methods, there may be a further step in method 400 ofdisplaying on a first portion of a display (such as the display 330shown in FIG. 5A) associated with a computer (such as computer 310 shownin FIGS. 5, FIG. 6A, 6B) at least one of the adjusted current indexvalues for fresh water and an indicia (i.e. “water B1”) identifyingeither water as the commodity and/or the category of fresh water whoseadjusted current index value is displayed on the first portion, thedisplay also displaying on a second portion of the display a currentprice of at least one root commodity (i.e. “corn”) from which the atleast one of the current index values is derived and an indiciaidentifying a root commodity (preferably each soot commodity) whosecurrent price is displayed on the second portion. Furthermore, the stepsof method 400 may be added to step 210 (or steps 210 and 220) of method200 involving financial instruments. In some other preferred embodimentsof method 400, the display may show the updateable current price of thefresh water (the dependent variable) based on quality and the updateablecurrent price of the at least one root commodity (independent variable)in the same portion of the display.

Method 400 may also have an additional step of determining, using acomputer processor, a price of each of a plurality of financialinstruments identifying on its face a particular amount of fresh waterof a particular water quality category, the price of each financialinstrument determined using the current index value of fresh water forone water quality category.

Similarly, systems 300, 600 may be modified so that the steps performedby computer 310 and/or code 361 in system 300 may correspond to steps ofany of the methods described herein.

Furthermore, in any of the methods of systems described herein, theprice of the water may be adjusted may be the geographical location ofthe source of water. Adjustment factors for geography may be stored incomputer 310.

It should be emphasized, moreover, that any of the methods or systemsdescribed above may be modified to incorporate any of the elements ormethod steps described in the Shirazi '239 patent incorporated herein.Purely as an example, a system may include collateral configured to actas collateral for the financial instrument described herein. Thecollateral may be a large body of fresh water owned by a municipalityand the collateral may be fresh water from a lake for example.Alternatively, the collateral may be a large amount of fresh waterstored somewhere after being removed from a water source. Alternatively,the collateral may be water or ice from an iceberg, or from part of theiceberg. In addition, a broker may be involved in using any of thestandardized price indices described herein. In some embodiments,current prices of fresh water of a particular water quality categoryand/or grade may be stored in a memory of a desktop or other computer ofa broker and may be calculated by the processor of the computer.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.Therefore, the claimed invention as recited in the claims that follow isnot limited to the embodiments described herein.

1. A method for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising: a computer processor obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; matching each of at least one water quality category from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories with said each root commodity of the at least one root commodity, such that a quality of water used in production of a respective root commodity meets water quality standards of a respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500 mg/l, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100; determining, using a further computer processor, the further computer processor being either the computer processor or another computer processor, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index value determined based on a current price of said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring at least one water source having fresh water with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by one or more of (i) water quality category and (ii) water quality grade.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying on a display associated with a computer an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular (i) water quality category including domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories, (ii) water quality grade including low, medium and high water quality grades or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, the updateable current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality being dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying on a first portion of a display associated with a computer one or more current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water whose current index value is displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on the second portion.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, using a processor, a price of fresh water derived from a particular water source by determining a current level of suitability of fresh water derived from the particular water source for each of the plurality of water quality categories and by combining current index values of the fresh water of each water quality categories by weighting each index value being combined by (i) the determined current level of suitability of the fresh water from the particular water source for each of the plurality of water quality categories and by (ii) a market share of water from each water quality category.
 6. A method for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising: (a) using a computer processor obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; (b) matching each of at least one water quality category from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories with said each root commodity of the at least one root commodity, such that a quality of water that is constituent in a respective root commodity meets water quality standards of a respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100; and (c) determining, using a further computer processor, the further computer processor being either the computer processor or another computer processor, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index value determined based on a current price of said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said each root commodity that was matched with said each water quality category.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying on a display associated with a computer an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular water quality selected from (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, the current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality being dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying on a first portion of a display associated with a computer one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia, identifying either water or a category of fresh water, whose current index value is displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying a root commodity whose current price is displayed on the second portion.
 9. A method of using financial instruments to invest in fresh water based of water quality, comprising: a computer processor; obtaining a price of each of the financial instruments identifying on its face a particular amount of fresh water of a particular water quality category, the price of each financial instrument determined using an index value of fresh water of a particular water quality category, having a computer store water quality standards for at least one water quality category; determining, using a computer processor, current prices of at least one root commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; associating each water quality category of the at least one water quality category from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories with a root commodity of the at least one root commodity, such that a quality of water either (i) constituent in a respective root commodity or (ii) used in production of the respective root commodity, meets water quality standards of a respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100; determining, using a further computer processor, the further computer processor being either the computer processor or another computer processor, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, the index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index value determined based on a current price of said each root commodity associated with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said each root commodity associated with said each water quality category.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying on a display associated with a computer an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular water quality selected from (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, the current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality being dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying on a first portion of a display associated with a computer at least one of the index values for fresh water, the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the index values is derived, the at least one of the index values and the price of the at least one root commodity each being updated over time.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the water quality categories having standards specifying ranges for at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the water quality categories having standards specifying ranges for TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising using a specific body of fresh water as collateral for the amount of fresh water on the face of each of the financial instruments.
 15. A system for trading fresh water based on water quality, comprising: a computer for obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent and (ii) water utilized in production of the said each root commodity, storing water quality standards for at least one water quality category, processing associations between each of at least one water quality category from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories with at least one root commodity of the at least one root commodity, such that a quality of water used in production of the root commodity meets water quality standards of the respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100; and determining a current index value for fresh water of each of the water quality categories based on a current price of said each root commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in the root commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of the root commodity.
 16. The system of claim 15, a display associated with a computer for displaying an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular water quality selected from (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, such that the current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality is dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a display associated with the computer for displaying one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water for each one of the current index value displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying each of the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on the display.
 18. The system of claim 15, further comprising a display associated with the computer for displaying on a first portion of the display one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water for each one of the current index value displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying each of the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on the second portion.
 19. The system of claim 15, further comprising the at least one water quality category including at least one from (i) a first water quality category for water that meets minimal standards for either drinking or domestic use, (ii) a second water quality category for water that does not meet standards for drinking water but meets minimal standards for agricultural quality water and (iii) a third water quality category for water that does not meet standards for agricultural quality water or drinking water but meets minimal standards for industrial quality water.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the water quality standards specify ranges for at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.
 21. The system of claim 15, further comprising a water quality measurement device for measuring fresh water from at least one water source that has fresh water, with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by water quality category.
 22. The system of claim 15, further comprising the computer also for determining a price of fresh water that comes from a particular water source by determining a current level of suitability of fresh water derived from the particular water source for each of the at least one water quality category and by combining current index values of the fresh water of each water quality categories by weighting each index value being combined by (i) the determined current level of suitability of the fresh water from the particular water source for each of the at least one water quality category and by (ii) a market share of water from each of the at least one water quality category.
 23. A system for trading fresh water based on water quality, comprising: a computer for obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in the root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of the root commodity, storing water quality standards for at least one water quality category, determining and storing associations between each of at least one water quality category from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories of the at least one water quality categories with at least one root commodity, such that a quality of water used to produce or constituent in a respective root commodity meets water quality standards of a respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100; and determining a current index value for fresh water of each of the water quality categories based on a current price of said each root commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in the root commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of the root commodity.
 24. The system of claim 23, a display associated with a computer for displaying an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular water quality selected from (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, such that the current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality is dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 25. The system of claim 23, further comprising a display associated with the computer for displaying one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water for each one of the current index value displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying each of the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on the display.
 26. The system of claim 23, wherein the water quality standards specify ranges for at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio.
 27. A system for trading fresh water based on water quality, the system comprising: at least one computer of at least one commodities exchange outputting prices of commodities that are not water, at least one of the commodities being a root commodity that either has fresh water as a constituent or whose production utilizes fresh water; a system computer having a processor, the system computer linked with and configured to receive from the at least one computer of the at least one commodities exchange updateable price data for the commodities, the system computer configured to identify root commodities and extract, from the updateable price data, the current price for said identified root commodities, the processor also configured to store water quality standards for at least one water quality category, associate each water quality category of the at least one water quality categories from among domestic, agricultural and industrial water quality categories with at least one said identified root commodity, such that a quality of water used in production of a respective identified root commodity meets water quality standards of a respective water quality category with regard to at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl and NO3, wherein the domestic water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<400, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<20, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, and wherein the industrial water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria: TDS<500, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<200, Na<50, Cl<400, NO3<100, compute, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the current index value determined based on a current price of said each identified root commodity associated with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each identified root commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said each identified root commodity associated with said each water quality category, the system computer configured to transmit the computed current index value of each water quality category to the at least one computer.
 28. The system of claim 27, further comprising a display associated with the at least one computer, the display displaying at least one current index value for fresh water of a water quality category and displaying a price of at least one identified root commodity from which the at least one current index value for fresh water is derived, the displayed at least one current index value for fresh water being updated over time and the displayed price of the at least one identified root commodity being updated over time.
 29. The system of claim 27, further comprising a display associated with the at least one computer, the display displaying at least one current index value for fresh water of a water quality category in a first portion of the display and displaying a price of at least one identified root commodity from which the at least one current index value for fresh water is derived on a second portion of the display, the displayed at least one current index value for fresh water being updated over time and the displayed price of the at least one identified root commodity being updated over time.
 30. The system of claim 27, further comprising a computer processor for determining a price of each of a plurality of financial instruments identifying on its face a particular amount of fresh water of a particular water quality category, the price of each financial instrument determined using the current index value of fresh water for one water quality category.
 31. A method for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising: (a) a computer processor obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity, root commodities being other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; (b) associating each of at least one water quality category with at least one root commodity of the at least one root commodity, the at least one water quality category defined by falling within a range with regard to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio; and (c) determining, using a computer processor, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index value determined based on a current price of said each root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said each root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said each root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category.
 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising displaying on a display associated with a computer one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water whose current index value is displayed on the display, the display also displaying a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying each root commodity of the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed.
 33. The method of claim 31, further comprising displaying on a first portion of a display associated with a computer one or more of the current index values for fresh water and an indicia identifying either water or a category of fresh water whose current index value is displayed on the first portion, the display also displaying on a second portion of the display a current price of at least one root commodity from which the at least one of the current index values is derived and an indicia identifying each root commodity of the at least one root commodity whose current price is displayed on the second portion.
 34. The method of claim 31, further comprising using a processor to adjust a price of pristine water based on a suitability of the pristine water for at least one of (i) drinking, (ii) agricultural use and (iii) industrial use.
 35. The method of claim 31, further comprising using a processor to adjust a price of non-pristine water based on a suitability of the non-pristine water for at least one of (i) drinking, (ii) agricultural use and (iii) industrial use.
 36. The method of claim 31, further comprising determining, using a computer processor, a price of each of a plurality of financial instruments identifying on its face a particular amount of fresh water of a particular water quality category, the price of each financial instrument determined using the current index value of fresh water for one water quality category.
 37. The method of claim 31, further comprising measuring at least one water source that has fresh water with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by water quality category.
 38. The method of claim 31, further comprising measuring the at least one water source with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio to categorize the fresh water of the at least one water source by water quality grade within a water quality category of the fresh water of the at least one water source.
 39. A system for trading fresh water based on water quality, comprising: a water quality measuring device for measuring fresh water of at least one water source with respect to at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio; a computer for receiving data from the water quality measuring device with respect to the fresh water in regard to the at least one of TDS, carbonate content, pH, hardness, sodium, chloride, nitrate, toxins and sodium adsorption ratio and for comparing the received data to stored water quality standards to determine a water quality category for the fresh water, wherein the agricultural water quality category standards are at least as strict as the following regarding at least one of the following six criteria measured in mg/liter: TDS<2000, H2CO3<500, CaCO3<2000, Na<800, Cl<800, NO3<50, obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity, each root commodity being other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in the root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of the root commodity, processing associations between each of at least one water quality category and at least one root commodity, the at least one water quality category defined by an amount present of at least one of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl, NO3; and determining a current index value for fresh water of each water quality category of the at least one water quality categories based on a current price of said each root commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in the root commodity associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of the root commodity.
 40. The system of claim 39, further comprising the computer also for determining a water quality grade, processing associations between each of at least one water quality grade with the at least one root commodity, and determining a current index value for fresh water of each water quality grade based on a current price of said each root commodity and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in the root commodity associated with said each water quality grade and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of the root commodity.
 41. The system of claim 40, further comprising a display associated with the computer, the display for displaying an updateable current price of one or more root commodities and an updateable current price of fresh water of a particular water quality selected from (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, such that the current price of the fresh water of the particular water quality is dependent on the current price of the one or more root commodities.
 42. The system of claim 41, wherein the updateable current price of one or more root commodities and the updateable current price of fresh water of a particular (i) water quality category, (ii) water quality grade or (iii) water quality category and water quality grade, are situated in different portions of the display.
 43. A method for investing in fresh water based on a quality of the fresh water, comprising: a computer processor obtaining current prices of at least one root commodity, root commodities being other than water, each root commodity of the at least one root commodity having at least one of (i) water as a constituent in said each root commodity and (ii) water utilized in production of said each root commodity; associating at least one water quality category with at least one root commodity, the at least one water quality category defined by an amount present of at least two of TDS, H2CO3, CaCO3, Na, Cl, NO3; and determining, using a computer processor, for each water quality category of the at least one water quality category, a current index value for fresh water meeting said each water quality category, the index value determined based on a current price of the at least one root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category and based on at least one of (i) a quantity of fresh water constituent in said at least one root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category and (ii) a quantity of water used in production of said at least one root commodity that was associated with said each water quality category.
 44. The method of claim 3, further comprising, updating over time and making accessible to the public a displayed at least one of the current index values and updating over time and making available to the public a displayed current price of the at least one root commodity. 